


The Diary of a Self-Proclaimed Rito Warrior

by unavoidablekoishi



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Family, Gen, Post-Calamity Ganon, Rito Village
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26363914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unavoidablekoishi/pseuds/unavoidablekoishi
Summary: Growing agitated by the presence of Vah Medoh lurking above Rito Village, Molli decides to do something about it.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	The Diary of a Self-Proclaimed Rito Warrior

A pair of very fierce, determined eyes lock onto the enormous, looming beast known as Vah Medoh. Though the eyes are rooted to the ground, the sights are set on the sky.

Vah Medoh had been making quite the nuisance of itself for some time now- and that was a monumental understatement. First, it had started out with a few stray shots, narrowly missing those with the guts to investigate the old relic. Then, it had flipped onto the offensive, attacking wildly and indiscriminately at anything that dared to enter its airspace. For a bird without sapience or sentience, it was remarkably territorial.

Unfortunately, the same could be said for the Rito that lived just underneath. The warriors from Rito Village were renowned for their obstinance and were about as immovable as a 500-tonne stone bird which left very little options for them both other than to fight.

Thing is, there’s not much damage you can do against a beast bigger than your entire village and, factoring in the shields, none of the Rito could even get close to it. Of course, that didn’t stop them from trying. It just meant that there were a few more warriors skulking around, bound to the village with battered wings and wounded prides.

Harth isn’t an exception but at least he knew when to call it quits, unlike one particular ivory-feathered idiot.

Seriously, what kind of moron went  _ back out  _ into danger, despite knowing how treacherous the skies were, and with a wife and child to care for? Teba has been his best friend since as long as he can remember but he could be so selfish sometimes. It just goes to remind him that Teba had never gone through the pain of losing a loved one before, though he knows his intentions are to protect.

Upon thinking that, Harth lowers the bow he’d been touching up and glances over at Molli, who had just woken up for the day. Her cozy little hammock was pinned up against the wall beneath his own, where he could keep an eye on her through the night. Of course, he’d been...admittedly neglectful of that for the past day or so.

Molli’s eyes are a little dull from sleep but he knows she’ll be as bright and chipper as ever in a moment. She shuffles off the hammock, landing on the floorboards with a small thud, and scampers over to sit comfortably directly in Harth’s lap. 

He emits a small chuckle, setting the bow down in favour of his daughter- he runs a hand through the fluff of hair that’s growing from the back of her head. It’s a pleasant, vibrant hue of pink that is a pleasant reminder of his departed wife. Her eyes are the same, too, as she looks up at him adoringly.

“You’re better now, huh?”

He can’t help but feel bad. His wing, still awkwardly bandaged, but no longer bleeding, gently pats at her back though it’s still very sore. He won’t be flying on it for a while, much to his dismay. “I’m fine, Molli, you don’t need to worry about me,” he ruffles the feathers on her head and she emits a small giggle.

“You always say that…”

“It’s because I mean it. It’s my job to worry about you, not the other way around,” he reminds her, softly. He knows he must’ve caused her worry and stress, being gone for one day and too injured to come home for the next but he was here now and ready to make up for it. Still, something tells him she’s not entirely satisfied by this answer.

“But  _ you  _ were the one who got hurt, not me! Who’s gonna worry about you?” 

She had a very inquisitive nature and, really, he should’ve expected this but he’s not too sure what to say, other than, “Me. I can worry about myself ‘cuz I’m a grown-up. You’re still little.”

Molli suddenly pouts, now very unhappy with his response, “That’s not fair! I can look after you too! Mama said I could!”

He swallows. That’s right, she had said that. In fact, it was almost like she’d made her promise to keep an eye on him but...he didn’t want that. Molli shouldn’t have to grow up to take her mother’s place. She was just a child and with her own life to live. 

“You’re already doing a good job,” he reassures her, “Mama’s already very proud of you, alright?”

Molli’s face seems to scrunch up on one side, like she’s uncertainly thinking about something but the way her eyes flit between Harth’s face and his injured wing makes him fear what she’ll ask next. He continues to stroke her hair. It brings him comfort.

“Was it that big birdie in the sky that made you get a broken wing?”

She plants her wings on her knees, looking up at him expectantly for a quick answer. Harth withers a little bit, not overly keen on relaying the intimate details of his injury to his young daughter but...when she gets like this, she won’t stop until she gets the answer she wants.

“It’s not broken. It’s just a little scrape is all...and yes, it was that...thing up there. I just got a little too close, is all,” he tells her. Molli habitually kicks her legs back and forth, eyes darting around the room absentmindedly as she speaks, “The elder said that we shouldn’t be flying right now- is that true?”

“It is.”

“Because of that big birdie?”

“Yup.”

“What does it do?”

Harth falters for a moment. “It...it doesn’t like things getting too close to it so it shoots at anything passing by,” he’s having a hard time wording it in a way that won’t give his daughter nightmares. This is already a stressful situation as it is but the children weren’t stupid. They could tell when something in the village was amiss.

“Did it shoot you?”

“Yes.”

“Did it hurt?”

“It did.”

Molli nods sincerely, seemingly satisfied with his answer, but she twists around to gently pat at Harth’s damaged wing, being as careful as she can about it, “It’s okay, it’ll get better soon.”

“Thank you, Molli.”

She tilts her head, “But what’s going to happen to that big birdie then? Is it gonna go away soon?” 

He wishes it would. He really wishes it would but, as things stood now, that thing wasn’t going to move any time in the foreseeable future. He wants to be positive for his daughter but he still wants her to understand the severity of the situation, lest she decides to run off on her own.

“Not right now, no.”

Molli eyes him suspiciously, “You...can’t make it go away, can you?”

He hands his head, looking defeated. Trust his daughter to mercilessly jab at his damaged pride, “Not...right now, no,” he repeats, albeit lowly and perhaps a little dismayed. Molli clucks her tongue, shaking her head as if this were unacceptable, pushing herself away from the comfort of Harth’s lap.

“That birdie won’t go away until you tell it to go away! You gotta chase it off and tell it to stop being naughty!” 

She demonstrates her words rather crudely by acting like a warrior, attempting to mimic the actions of her father and standing triumphantly in the middle of the room, wings on hips. Harth imagines that, in her mind, she’s just beaten Vah Medoh. Unfortunately, that had no impact on the real world.

“I know, Molli, but it’s not that simple. We’ve all got to get a little bit stronger before we can chase it away, alright? Just be patient.”

The little girl suddenly throws down her wings, looking to be on the verge of agitation, “You got hurt, though! You can’t let it do what it wants when it hurt you! That’s not fair!”

Harth sighs, “I’m really in no state to do anything about that now. For the moment, we’re just going to have to stay closer to the ground so we can be safe.”

“But what if it comes down here?!”

“It won’t,” he says, but there’s no real evidence of that.

Molli’s pout is monstrous. She looks ready to throw a tantrum and, as much as Harth likes to let her have her way, between the brewing headache and the consistent wingache, he’s not in the mood to deal with an outburst.

“Listen, why don’t you go and get something to eat and then go and play with the others. Tulin walked by a little while ago, I’m sure he’d play with you,” his tone of voice is exasperated as he tells her this, hoping that she’ll calm down and go about her day like normal. Perhaps he shouldn’t have told her what was going on.

Molli’s expression is incredulous, “What?! There’s no time to play with that birdie on the loose!”

Harth visibly deflates, reaching out for the discarded bow, and, with a touch of finality to his voice, tells her, “Go and get some breakfast.”

With her face crinkled and some weight to her step, she reluctantly leaves their nest and stomps off towards the kitchen, in no mind to eat.

  
  


* * *

The vast expanse of Vah Medoh casts an ominous shadow across the village every time it passes and Molli, having been watching Medoh for close to an hour now, wonders if it’ll deviate from the circle it flies overhead.

She tilts her head, looking quite unimpressed. It didn’t seem to be doing anything. It was just flying around! How was that scary? To think all the most seasoned warriors of the village couldn’t even make it go away. Grown-ups could be so silly sometimes.

She’s happy to have her father back, though. Despite the small hiccup in attitude this morning, she is deeply overjoyed to have him back alive. So much so that, really, she doesn’t  _ want  _ him to go back. She already missed having a mama, losing him too would leave her all alone. 

She stares down at the ground below, lines of concern etched into her baby face. She can hear the other children playing from across the landing- and how could they? At a time like this? 

Frowning, she shakes her head, getting to her feet. Well, that was it. She wasn’t going to let that mean birdie hurt her father any more! The only thing she could do now was go out and show that thing who was boss! She nods to nobody in particular, now dead set in her mission though, what she was going to actually do was still a mystery, even to her.

She turns around, ready to barrel towards the base of the village, before running headlong into a mass of feathers that she didn’t recognise as her fathers. Stumbling backwards and shaking the dizziness from her head, she has to crane her neck to see who was standing up there.

Teba’s face is...even more terrifying from below. However, having been a part of her life since the day she was born, Molli was now used to his daunting expression. She reels back, looking up at him almost in awe, “Oh...hello!”

“Morning, Molli. What’re you up to?”

She clasps her wings behind her back in a show of innocence, “I’m not doing anything! What are  _ you  _ doing?” 

Teba cracks a faint smile, finding humour in her cheeky tone, “I’m heading out to the Flight Range.”

This makes Molli curious- she tilts her head, wearing an expression of perplexion, “Huh? I thought the elder told us we couldn’t fly right now?” She’s not wrong, that’s for sure, and she  _ knows  _ she’s not wrong because the way Teba clears his throat makes him look almost guilty.

“Different rules for us- we’re trying to make sure we can get out and fly again. You, on the other hand, should stay in the village. Don’t make your dad worry,” he ruffles her head in a friendly manner, turning to leave but Molli’s frown is most formidable, almost taking him aback.

“Daddy made  _ me  _ worry!”

Teba sighs half-heartedly, “I know he did. He didn’t mean to. He was only trying to help me, alright? Your dad is a brave man. He doesn’t go down easy, so don’t worry too much about him.”

Despite also being a father, Teba and Harth had drastically different ways of talking to their children or handling certain topics but Molli isn’t sure she can put her finger on how. Nonetheless, it seems like they were saying the same thing, which was typical for adults. She looks down at the floor, dismayed, “Daddy said the same thing…” she says, quietly.

“Well, that’s because he’s right. Listen to him, okay?”

“Are you gonna go and make that birdie go away?”

Teba pulls a face like he’s unsure what to say, before admitting, “Yeah. I am. So just sit tight and it’ll be gone soon.”

“But didn’t you do that a few days ago too?”

“Yeah…”

“You didn’t do a very good job.”

He frowns but not out of offense. Not really. “Can’t do everything first try. Sometimes it takes work. Now, go play with Tulin. The other girls won’t let him sing with them so he’s moping around the house right now. He could use a friend to play with,” he urges, though mostly to get the little girl out of his feathers long enough to leave the village without drawing attention to himself. 

Molli reluctantly turns away but watches Teba’s back as he heads towards the village gate, an idea concocting in her head.

* * *

Molli had spent many a time observing the Rito warriors at practice. She’d very rarely get to go to the Flight Range, unlike Tulin, but, from her perch in the village, she’d get to see the little shapes on the other side of the lake, sparring together in the hopes of becoming stronger.

That’s why she knew the first thing she’d need is a weapon! Every good warrior had a weapon and, having a weaponsmith for a father, she was confident she’d seen every type of weapon out there!

Unfortunately, her father would most likely be occupying their nest at the moment, which made obtaining a real weapon from there absolutely impossible. That was fine, though, since the knives her father crafted were still a little too heavy for her to hold. She’d have to do the next best thing.

And what was better than a good old reliable stick. Foraged from the wilderness that surrounded their home, it was about half her height and perfect to swing about! Sticks as good as this were hard to find. All kids knew that. 

Perching on one of the rocks protruding from the grass at the base of the village, she begins to pluck the vibrant green leaves from it, letting them scatter around her. Mazli passes by, though she doesn’t notice, eyeing her curiously as he heads towards the bridge.

A perfect weapon. This would do just fine! However, with every offense, a defense was necessary. With a good weapon like this, she’d need an equally good shield to go with! However, shields were a little harder to find. Shields didn’t spawn in the wilderness like sticks did. She’d have to think  _ real  _ hard about what to do here.

Trudging back again, Mazli’s eyes are trained on the sky, unable to take them away from the threat looming just above. Molli can understand that. She liked to think she was good at watching things. However, she’s about to head back to the village before something catches her eye. 

“Huh...that can’t be good,” Mazli mutters to himself, wing held above his eyes so he can see without being blinded by the sunshine. Suddenly, he feels a small tug at his armour and he looks down.

“Oh…! Hey, Molli. What’re you up to?”

Molli is practically bouncing as she stares up at him, large eyes sparkling, “I’m looking for something! You have it!”

He blinks, mildly taken aback. “Huh? Something I’ve got? I don’t think it’s anything you want, kiddo. It’s just boring warrior stuff, y’know?”

Molli, now determined to gain herself a shield, frowns, “It’s not boring! I need a shield! Can I have yours? Please?” She clasps her wings together as if praying, pleading for him to say yes. However, the uncertainty in his eyes does not seem to be in her favour. The lightweight shield that hangs from Mazli’s hip seems tauntingly within reach but he doesn’t seem to be yielding.

“Sorry,” he sighs, “I need this. What with all of that-” he pauses to gesture up to Medoh, “-going on, I can’t afford to be defenseless. That being said, you shouldn’t be straying too far from the village. It’s dangerous.”

Molli sags, almost letting her stick drop the ground. That was disappointing and not the answer she’d wanted to hear. However, she knows better than to make a nuisance of herself about it. She’d ruffled Teba’s feathers a little too much earlier and the last thing she wants is somebody relaying her endeavours to her father. She begins to sadly plod away, back towards the village. Mazli watches her go, perhaps a little sympathetic to her cause.

Still, it didn’t make the walk back up to the village any less demotivating. She’d only been a self-proclaimed warrior for about fifteen minutes and it had been hard! Surely there was  _ something  _ she could use for a shield around here. 

She pauses, staring off vacantly as her stomach rumbles almost embarrassingly loudly. 

She still hadn’t eaten breakfast. Well...she hadn’t been very happy with her father that morning and had chosen to bypass food and go straight to her usual perch-- however! Things were different now and the life of a self-proclaimed warrior would require good meals. She had to keep her strength up somehow if she were to be ready to fight Medoh.

It puts a little more spring into her step as she bounds off towards the kitchen, eager to eat. Luckily, Amali was almost always in the kitchen, fixing up food for her children- especially Genli. Genli could eat like a horse at the best of times and probably ate more than her other four sisters combined. Not eating resulted in a very cranky little green Rito, whose complaining could be heard throughout the whole village.

To Molli’s surprise, however, Genli wasn’t in the kitchen at the moment, though Amali was. The mother-of-five brightens when Molli walks through the door, setting her ladle down on the side, “Hello, Molli. You’re a little late to breakfast, aren’t you?”

Molli beams, flashing one of her sweetest smiles, “I forgot,” she lies, “but I got really hungry so I wanted something to eat.” She silently wonders if there are any apples left, apples being her favourite fruit, as she scans the kitchen for something edible. Amali chuckles, pulling out a stool for Molli to sit down.

“There’s still some fish left from this morning, honey. Kheel ran off before finishing her food- as usual- so there’s more leftover than normal. You’re welcome to it.”

Molli nods excitedly, propping her stick up next to the table as Amali plates up some fish for her to eat. She eyes the stick with curiosity and, setting the plate down in front of Molli, says, “That’s a nice stick you’ve got. Did you find it this morning?”

The little Rito nods boisterously, shovelling fish into her beak and swallowing it down perhaps a little too hastily. Amali is close to telling her to slow down before Molli chirps, “It’s my brand-new sword!”

“A sword? What in the world do you need a sword for?” Amali questions, though can assume this may be normal behaviour for the daughter of a weaponsmith. Still, Molli always seemed far too laid-back for play fighting. It makes her wonder how Harth is doing.

“Daddy’s wing isn’t very good right now-- and it’s all that big, mean birdie’s fault!” Molli explains, crossly and Amali’s eyebrows ascend a notch, “Ah. So that’s it.”

Molli manages to finish the rest of her breakfast in one gargantuan bite and tries her best to talk at the same time, “Daddy can’t fight right now so I’m going to protect him!” she swallows the fish down, now looking a tad demotivated, “but...I can’t find a shield anywhere. Mazli won’t let me borrow his and I don’t know where else to get one!”

She picks up the stick left next to the table, swinging it around half-heartedly. She just  _ had  _ to get her hands on a shield. What kind of warrior would she be without one?

Amali isn’t certain whether she should be encouraging this or not but Molli looks so deflated by her lack of a shield and her intentions were adorably well-meaning- she’s not sure she can bring herself to say no. 

Meanwhile, Molli is almost looking ready to give up. She doesn’t want to stop her endeavour just yet but where else was she supposed to look? If Mazli wouldn’t give his shield up, she doesn’t think any of the other warriors would. Most of them were a bit prickly at the moment, still recovering from the last excursion out to Medoh.

“Molli,” Amali kneels down next to her, brandishing something with a warm smile, “Do you think this could work?”

Molli squints down, trying to work out what Amali was holding up in front of her, and slowly, gradually, her eyes begin to light up. Her beak twists into a cute little smile that Amali is happy to see.

“That’s it! Is...is that the lid from the pot?”

Amali chuckles, “It is, but I think it could work! Look, it’s even got a little handle you can hold, just like real shields. Well…?” She hands over the item, adjusting it so Molli can hold it with ease and wield her stick at the same time. Hopping down from the stool, Molli strikes a strong, powerful pose, feeling very much like a warrior as she does so. Amali claps encouragingly.

“Very nice! You look just like your father when you do that!”

Molli graciously takes that as one of the nicest compliments she’d received in her life.

* * *

Now, with a sword and shield in her possession, she was well on her way to becoming a full-fledged warrior. Feeling very accomplished, Molli begins to pace around the village, wondering what could be next.

She thinks about her father. He'd been a warrior for some time so he was pretty much a perfect model for her to follow (aside from sustaining his Medoh-related injury). Let's see... he always had a good weapon on hand- ah, but he also had armour! That had to be an important facet of becoming a warrior! After all, you had to be protected and not just by a shield!

But...they didn’t make armour in children’s sizes. 

She stops for a moment, looking down at her own clothes with a forlorn expression. These little aprons were common attire for Rito children and her mother had sewn this particular garment, so she didn’t really want to take it off. If there were something she could equip over the top, that would be perfect! But where would she find such a thing?

Harth was a weaponsmith- he didn’t make armour so Molli isn’t all that familiar with the process of it and she knows going down to the Brazen Beak will be fruitless. Huck wouldn’t have anything to give her and, even if they  _ did  _ make armour in her size, she didn’t have the rupees for it- she was on a real budget here.

That’s why she’s doing the next best thing. At least...she thinks it is, anyway.

Teba had mentioned earlier how the other girls were too busy to play with Tulin and, if the Rito warrior was off to scope out that big stone bird, his son was most likely mooching around at home. Tulin was always on board with her games so she supposes she can let him in on her special secret. Since his daddy was also a warrior, maybe he had some ideas!

Her stick is now holstered away in the sash of her apron. She dashes up the stairs, ascending through the village as she clutches her shield, doing her best not to trip and fall flat on her face as she approaches the home of Teba, Saki and Tulin.

To her relief, it seems that Saki hadn’t left to go shopping yet so she and Tulin were still in. Poking her head round the corner of the doorway, Tulin’s chubby little face lights up upon seeing the familiar pink fluff.

“Molli!”

Saki perks up, watching her son greet their unexpected guest, “Oh, hello, Molli! Did you come to play?”

“Kinda,” Molli wrings her wings, looking up at Saki shyly, “I came ‘cuz I have stuff to do. Tulin! C’mere!”

Tulin trots over, practically buzzing, “Yeah?”

Stacking up the plates from breakfast, Saki watches the pair out of the corner of her eye. Molli is heatedly whispering into Tulin’s ear and Tulin is nodding but doesn’t quite look like he’s following. He looks excited nonetheless and the two finish their small discussion with an assenting nod. He then turns to Saki.

“Mama! Could we…” he pauses, really gearing himself up to be as convincing as possible, “could we play with dad’s old armour? Please!”

Saki looks distinctly surprised, “Armour? Whatever for?”

“Just for fun! We wanna try it on!” Molli chirps, looking as innocent as ever. The two of them look up at her with such sweet, large eyes and barely contained excitement she can hardly bring herself to say no. Well...she was awfully bad at saying no to Tulin anyway. How could she refuse her sweet baby boy?

“Since he’s not using it, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind too much if you play with it. Just make sure not to break it, alright? Be careful,” she finishes stacking the plates and begins to sift through one of the chests of drawers in their home, searching for the aforementioned armour. It’s not like he was going to wear it again- really, the only purpose it served in their home was a token of memories.

Pulling out the old leather garment, she smiles. He’d worn this on their first date and the thought of her still makes her feel fuzzy inside. Hell, if she were able to fix it up a little, she’s sure Tulin could grow into it. Oh, he would look so handsome.

She suddenly snaps out of her daydream, noticing the two children standing beside her with expectant faces.

“Here you go. Like I said, be very careful with it. Do you want me to help you put it on?”

Molli jumps up and down with excitement, “Yes, please!”

Saki chuckles, bending down to help Molli slip into the oversized armour- to be fair, it’s quite easy for the little child to just slip right into battle attire but Saki begins adjusting some of the straps so it won’t just fall straight off of her, “My, what’s spurred this? You’ve even got a little sword and shield to go with it! Have you been playing warriors?”

Tulin marvels at the armour as Molli replies, “You noticed! It took a while but Amali helped me get a proper shield! Now I’m all ready!”

“Ready for what?”

Molli’s eyes sparkle with determination, “To fight the giant birdie!”

Saki blinks, “The...the giant birdie?”

As if on cue, an enormous shadow passes over the hut and the surrounding deck, casting a hollow gloom over the normally warm-natured and peaceful village. Saki gets shivers even thinking about that awful beast, fearing for the safety of her husband and son but…

...here Molli was, wearing a braver face than she’d ever seen and vowing to  _ fight  _ that monstrosity. She was still such a small girl and Saki can’t imagine where she’s getting this courage from. Armed with her trusty sword and shield and, now clad in Teba’s old armour, she looked adorably battle-ready.

In her heart, Saki can’t be too fearful for Molli. Mainly because, as a child, Molli didn’t yet have the strength to fly that high yet so she really had no way of getting up there to fight but she doesn’t really want to wreck this little girl’s dream. She clearly wanted to help.

Normally, Molli reminds Saki of Molli’s mother, a friend she once held dear to her. From her usual laid-back attitude and sweet nature, she really was becoming a spitting image of her. However, it seems like she’s becoming more and more like her father every day. Knowing Harth, he probably hadn’t noticed yet.

Saki smiles at the small child, leaning down to kneel in front of her, “Well, if you’re going to go out and fight, you’ll need a partner.”

“A partner…?”

“Well,” she explains, “you know most warriors go out in pairs. After all, your father and my husband fight together- since Teba has gone out for the day...why don’t you take his place?”

Molli blinks at her, silently processing her words.

“You think I should team up with daddy?”

Saki nods, “I think you should.”

Molli looks contemplative for quite a while- her little eyebrows are furrowed as the shadow of Medoh passes over, “I think he was cross with me earlier. Do you think he’ll be cross with me now?”

“Honey, your daddy can never stay mad at you for longer than an hour. I think you should go and show him what you’ve been doing. After all, part of being a warrior is pride,” she winks at the little girl, “you’ve done the work so now’s the time to be proud!”

Molli’s expression morphs from plain to delighted over about five seconds- the armour is a little bit obstructive and partially hinders her movement but that doesn’t stop her from picking up her new weapons and barrelling towards the door.

“I’ll bring it back later!”

Saki laughs.

* * *

Molli hadn’t realised having a partner was so important. Normally, she’d just pick Tulin or maybe Genli if the latter were feeling particularly feisty but the idea of being all big and strong and fighting with her father made her beam. 

Ah, but he was injured right now, wasn’t he?

Well, that wouldn’t last forever. She could guard him specifically for the time being to make sure that awful birdie didn’t hurt him again! That would be easy enough. She’d watched Mazli and Gesane go about their guarding duties for hours and hours. All they did was stand around and occasionally chat to one another so she thinks she’s got the basics down. After that, she could set on getting rid of the birdie altogether! 

She’d have to learn to fly up higher first...but that’s a hurdle she’s willing to jump.

Her own home is not too far from Tulin’s so she hurriedly skitters down the stairs, receiving some very strange looks from passersby as she went. She couldn’t stop to explain- it was important warrior work! They wouldn’t understand.

She screeches to a halt in front of her door, almost toppling over with the weight of the armour, as she stands there proudly with her sword and shield in hand. If she held the shield at an angle, maybe he wouldn’t notice it was really just a pot lid.

“Ahem!”

Harth looks up.

He blinks.

He blinks again.

“...Molli?”

Molli strides confidently into the room, just as Saki had recommended, and strikes quite the magnificent pose (from her eyes, it was pretty magnificent), allowing Harth to bask in her preemptive glory.

“I did it! I became a warrior!” she chirps, full of passion. Harth can’t really do much but stare but he’s distinctly taken aback by whatever’s just walked into his home. Still, a smile cracks over his beak.

“A warrior?”

Molli nods eagerly, “See, you’re not well, are you? So, I’m gonna defeat that big scary birdie and save the village- and I’m gonna guard our house so you don’t get hurt anymore! Okay?”

There’s a moment of delay where her words are being processed but Harth suddenly bursts into laughter and Molli isn’t sure whether this is a good or bad thing. He wasn't making fun of her, was he? Molli is about to deflate until Harth begins to speak.

“M-Molli, you did all of this ‘cuz I got hurt? I gotta say, you look like quite the fearsome warrior. I bet you’d be even scarier than Teba,” he jokes, marvelling at her sudden transformation, before adding, “Hey-- hold on, isn’t that his old armour?”

Molli suddenly looks sheepish, “Yeah… Saki helped me put it on! She said I could borrow it whilst I’m doin’ warrior things! I got the sword from outside the village,” she shows off her terrifying stick, “and Amali gave me a shield from the kitchen,” she shakes the pot lid around.

Harth’s brows lower, but there’s still a smile on his face, “I hope you haven’t been bothering people with this.”

“I haven’t! They helped me! I didn’t ask ‘em to…”

Molli hopes he wouldn’t be too cross with her but the silence he offers is anxiety-inducing. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he was happy or sad but Molli nervously anticipates his response as he inspects her up and down.

Eventually, he grins, holding his wings out, “You did a pretty good job! That bird won’t know what hit it,” of course, he has no intentions of letting his daughter fight something he, himself, couldn’t take down but he liked to let her dream. After all, she’d put so much effort into this and her dedication fills him with such pride.

Molli squeals and practically jumps straight into her father’s arms, holding onto whatever she was able to grab, nuzzling comfortably into the crook of his neck. Harth cuddles back, holding his daughter close but the fact she’s wearing Teba’s armour is only slightly weird. He decides to ignore it.

Molli pulls back for a moment, “We’re gonna team up, aren’t we? We’ll fight that mean birdie together! Then  _ neither  _ of us will get hurt- we can look after each other!”

Her smile is contagious but the purity of her words really sparks something inside Harth. He gently strokes the back of her head, wondering how his late wife had managed to infect Molli so quickly with her kindness. However, he can’t deny this sudden hard-headed streak must’ve come from him. He hopes he’s not being a bad influence on her but her sudden desire to defend is hard to hate.

“Of course we’ll look after each other,” he smiles, “we always have.”

**Author's Note:**

> Harth: (ง'̀-'́)ง  
> Molli: ⁽ง'̀⁻'́⁾ง


End file.
